Systems and methods for forming raised markings on substrates for Braille identification and security and to facilitate automatic handling of the substrates

Abstract

Haptic or tactile features, which are generally not visually perceptible or reproducible, are applied at varying positions on a substrate according to a predetermined scheme. A plurality of raised image areas are specified for a group of substrates and raised marks are printed in only one raised image area for each substrate in a manner that is evenly distributed between the raised image areas for the group of substrates. The substrates will present a relatively uniform stack avoiding localized large pile heights when the substrates are stacked. A clear marking material is used to print the raised marks so as not to obscure underlying data printed on the substrate. The clear marking material may include a monomer that may become cross-linked in an exposure process to resist deinking of the substrate. The clear marking material may be mixed with a phosphorescing or fluorescing material as an additional security measure.

Description

[0001]This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 410,974 entitled “Systems and Methods For Printing Hybrid Raised Markings on Documents to Enhance Security,” which is co-owned with this application, and the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field of Disclosed Subject Matter[0003]This disclosure relates to systems and methods for applying raised markings on documents, particularly paper currency, to provide enhanced security for the documents and to provide recognition of the documents for the visually impaired, without adversely impacting automated document handling of the documents.[0004]2. Related Art[0005]The U.S. Government, like other governments world-wide, prints “paper” currency for use in domestic and international trade and transactions. Paper currency, like many other forms of printed documents that have an intrinsic monetary value (“documents of value”), is historically a target of fo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]Currency and other documents that are augmented with haptic or tactile features provide significant advantages in security of the documents, and in document discrimination to, for example, the visually impaired, that are not realized in documents that do not include such haptic or tactile features. See, e.g., co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,925,043 B2, and co-owned U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20100053287, 20100055407, 20100055415, 20100055423 and 20100055484.

[0014]Automated handling, including counting, sorting, stacking and dispensing, of documents of value, including currency from, for example, automatic teller machines (ATMs) and other self-service kiosk dispensers has become prolific. The banking industry, among other corporate entities, relies on all manner of automated dispensing of paper currency to increase productivity, and to provide a level of customer convenience that has come to be expected. Such devices, which were originally developed simply to dispense cash, now include options for carrying out myriad other functions related to individual banking transactions. Moreover, self-service kiosks are available to facilitate many other transactions in commerce that do not relate to banking Additional transactions undertaken by self-service kiosks with which a particular user may interact include, for example, on-demand printing and dispensing of documents of value, such as lottery tickets, transportation tickets, entertainment tickets, travelers checks, gift certificates or other documents to which a specific value is attached, which may be printed on preliminarily-formatted substrates and dispensed to a customer from the self-service kiosk.

Problems solved by technology

Paper currency, like many other forms of printed documents that have an intrinsic monetary value (“documents of value”), is historically a target of forgers or counterfeiters.

The existence and use of counterfeit currency can have economically devastating effects.

Because of this, governments expend significant resources to make forgery and counterfeiting of currency incredibly difficult.

These fine details were designed in a manner that they were not easily reproducible according to traditional document production or reproduction printing methods.

Digital printers, copiers and scanners, coupled with sophisticated image editing software, make it possible to produce unauthorized high-quality copies of legitimate documents of value, including currency, that are increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine original documents.

The quality of these unauthorized imitations, in many instances, makes them all but impossible to distinguish from genuine documents, when the only features that may be used to distinguish the copies from the originals are the content of the printed image.

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